Antenatal anti-D prophylaxis and D antigen negativity in pregnant women of the UAE: a cross-sectional analysis from the Mutaba'ah Study

Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of the negative D antigen phenotype, adherence to routine antenatal anti-D immunoglobulin prophylaxis (RAADP) administration and D antigen sensitisation among pregnant women in the UAE.

Design: Data was collected from pregnant women enrolled in the Mutaba'ah Study. The Mutaba'ah Study is an ongoing prospective mother and child cohort study in the UAE. Data were extracted from the medical records and baseline questionnaire administered to the participants between May 2017 and January 2021.

Setting: The study was conducted in Al Ain city of the UAE.

Participants: A total of 5080 pregnant women residing in Al Ain participated in the study.

Outcome measures: The study estimated the prevalence of negative D antigen phenotype and the provision of RAADP in this population.

Results: Of the 5080 pregnant women analysed, 4651 (91.6%) had D antigen positive status, while 429 (8.4%) were D-negative. D antigen sensitisation was low at 0.5%, and there was a high uptake of RAADP in the population at 88.8%.

Conclusions: The adherence to RAADP is consistent with published data from other healthcare settings. Knowledge of the prevalence of D antigen negative mothers is crucial to the financial and resource consideration for implementing antenatal foetal cell-free DNA screening to determine foetal D antigen status.